Costa del Sol News: Thousands in unemployment face a cold turkey Christmas in Malaga

MORE than 68,000 unemployed people face Christmas with no benefits in sight. Unemployment in the province of Malaga has dropped drastically in recent years, but unemployment levels and their social consequences remain worrying. 

Of the 149,545 unemployed people in Malaga, over 68,000 people don’t receive any economic help. According to the latest data published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, there are almost 81,223 residents who receive some type of help, in the way of tax provisions, subsidies, employment programs or agricultural aid.

This leaves a big number of people unprotected during the Christmas season, when expenses are at an all-time high. In this way, the effects of the 2008 economic crisis remain present, despite the fact that unemployment has diminished in comparison to some of the toughest moments of the recession. In 2013, more than 102,000 unemployed people faced Christmas without any benefits to fall back on.